... occurred on Tuesday, when I felt compelled to make another drive to Valdosta, where the Auntie was in crisis mode. Causing me to do that six hour drive three times in a week. She had doctor visits scheduled last for one day early last week. In order to be aware of what happens in a small closed room, I need to be there, in that little cubicle. Sadly she is not a reliable source of information, so you or friends or doctors or office staff cannot believe anything she says. Even though she might give the appearance, look to be perfectly normal: a brief conversation will soon bring awareness she is likely talking nonsense. Well-meaning, but profoundly confused. I make every effort to schedule her appointments when I know I can take a day to get there with her, to be privy to conversations and insert needed information for providers to give the best treatment.
The staff at the residential facility felt like she was having a problem on Saturday. They could not solve over the weekend and called EMS to take her to the ER, where she was admitted. Ultimately for nothing more than a UTI. Which is, as I know, a big deal in senior citizens, as internal infections can easily overwhelm a compromised immune system, and create some serious problems, become septic and possibly fatal. But in this age of modern medicines and readily available prescrition drugs for almost every first world problem, why they would admit a person for that is beyond me. My assumption is that if you did not know her history, and she arrived transported by strangers who could not provide background, you would think she was in serious trouble judging by the level of confusion in conversation. Not knowing profound confusion is her 'normal' state. Pretty sad.
I drove down to Valdosta on Sunday afternoon, and spent the night, was able to get her back to her familiar surroundings on Monday around noon. Left to drive for three hours to get back home and go to work on Tuesday. Assuming with the Rx I had filled at Walgreens she would recover and bounce back.
But several calls on Tuesday afternoon alerted me to the fact that she was not 'bouncing back'. They sent her with EMS back to the ER: which would have to be a confusing, frightening experience for someone with no understanding of what is happening. Perhaps the fortunate part of memory loss is that she could not recall having just had a similar experience several days earlier? Well, whatever...
I left work, went home to get overnight supplies, and drove to south Georgia again on Tuesday. Expecting to find her in the ER, frightened, disheveled and confused.
When I arrived, using my powers of persuasion to finally get past the gatekeeper and permitted into the inner sanctum of ER, I was told she had been sent back to her residence. "You just missed her by two minutes." Making me wonder if the confusion of being admitted or the confusion of being rejected is the lesser evil/more desirable outcome? I drove to the residence in the country, in the dark and missed my turn. Eventually located that oasis of peace, where she had already been put to bed. After considerable conversation with staff, exhausted me drove back into town and put myself in a bed as well.
We went to Family Practice on Wednesday, where her familiar caregiver concluded she was doing ok. And she did seem more alert, obviously more ambulatory than she was on Monday as well as Tuesday. Her condition the first of the week was alarming to all who know her 'normal' self, as she was not conversant (or argumentative, demanding, insistent as is her usual demeanor) Or mobile which she has been, though agility has declined. I hope the Rx will provide continued improvement, and she will regain some of her lost ground. But also accept with someone her age that she will not likely return to the starting point where she was a week ago, before the UTI hit her like someone dropping bricks from an overpass.
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